Firearm rear sight

ABSTRACT

A rear sight for firearms is disclosed in which a transverse sight member is carried by a support and includes an eccentric portion having a circumferentially disposed groove defining a notch with its upper edges being raised or lowered as the sight member is turned, thereby providing for elevation corrections. The sight member is shiftable transversely to provide for windage corrections.

ited States Patent 3,792,534 Lowe, Jr. Feb. 19, 1974 [54] FIREARM REAR SlGHT FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS y n Charles Lowe 54 Spring -I 94,036 3 1922 Switzerland 33/258 West Hartford, Conn. 06107 7 [22] Filed; Mar, 13, 1972 Primary ExaminerL0uis R. Prince Assistant Examiner-Charles E. Phillips [21] Appl. No.: 234,215

7 [57] ABSTRACT A rear sight for firearms is disclosed in which a trans verse Sight member is carried by a Support and [58] Field of Search 33/254 260 cludes an eccentric portion having a circumferentially disposed groove defining a notch with its upper edges [56] References cued being raised or lowered as the sight member is turned, UNITED STATES PATENTS thereby providing for elevation corrections. The sight 1,397,108 11/1921 Payne 33/258 member is shiftable transversely to provide for windl,l50,791 8/1915 Hanitz 6t 31.. 33/257 age corrections, 2,456,214 12/1948 Poe 33/258 3,495,339 2 1970 Elliason 33 257 9 Claims, 10 Dr wing Flgures ,dicated lines 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIREARM REAR SIGHT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to rear sights of the open type for firearms.

A wide variety of open sights are available for firearms. Inthe simplest form, commonly found on hand guns, the rear sight consists of a fixed notch or groove formed in the receiver or the frame. Open sights are also provided that enable changes in elevation to be made with one type having its notched part supported by a lengthwise stepped slide and another type having its notched part raised and lowered by means of a vertical screw. Open sights do not usually have means for effecting windage corrections and sights that do provide for such corrections are relatively'expensive.

THE PRESENT INVENTION The present invention provides rear firearm sights of the open type that are adjusted for elevation and preferably also for windage.

In accordance with the invention, a rear sight includes a support and a transversely disposed sight I member.: The support may be formed as an integral to hold the .sight member in the selected position that effects elevation corrections.

Where windage corrections are a wanted feature, the sight member is axially slidable relative to the support and means are provided to lock it in that position into which it has been slid that effects winding correction and means are provided to enable either windage or elevation corrections to be made independently of and without affecting the other adjustment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the accompanying drawings, there are shown preferred embodiments of rear sights in accordance with the invention. I

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a partly sectioned rear view of a rear sight the support of which is an integral partof the receiver or frame of a hand gun;

FIG. 2 is a side view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a section taken approximately along the indicated lines 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a section, on an increase inscale, taken through the sight member approximately along the in- FIG. 5 is a lengthwise section, also on the scale of FIG. 4 of the sight member taken axially thereof;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view, on the scale of FIG. 4, of the sight member with one .end screw removed;

FIG. 7 is a side view ofa rear sight in accordance with another embodiment of the invention for use where the forearm has a transverse, support-receiving dovetail;

FIG. 8 is a rear view-thereof;

FIG. 9 is a side view of another rear sight in accordance with the invention for use where the firearm has a vertical, support-receiving dovetail at one side; and

FIG. 10 is a section taken approximately along the indicated lines l010 of FIG. 9.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated by FIGS. 1-6, a rear sight is disclosed that is particularly well suited for a hand gun. The rear sight is generally indicated at 20 and includes, as its support, a pair of sides 21 formed as an integral part of the breach end 22 of the receiver of an automatic and a sight member detachably attached to the sides 21 and generally indicated at 23.

Each side 21 is formed with a passageway, best seen in FIG. 3 and generally indicated at 24. The passageways 24 are transversely aligned and interconnected by a channel 25. Each passageway 24 is dimensioned to enable the sight member 23 to be inserted through its end into the passageway of the other side and includes an inner, receiver portion 24A and an outer, counterbored portion 24B. The receiver portions 24A are formed with internal, aligned teeth 26, certain ones of which extend lengthwise of the channel 25.

The sight member 23, see FIGS. 4-6, is conveniently formed from a length of pinion stock whose teeth 27 are spaced and dimensioned for entry between the teeth 26 of the receiver portions 24A and the channel 25 and to be slidably held thereby. The sight members 7 23 has end portions 23A, eccentric hub portions 238 notch. to be lined up with the front sight 29. The length of the sight member is slightly less than the distance between the outer ends of the receiver portions 24A but such that its end portions 23A are both entrant of a receiver portion 24A. Each end portion 23A has an axial bore 30 threaded to receive a locking screw 31 whose head is dimensioned for entry into the counterbored portions 243. It will thus be apparent that as the sight member 23 is turned on its axis, its upper profile is raised or lowered depending on its original position and the direction and extent to which it is turned.

Assuming the sight member 23 to be attached to the sides 21 and that a change in elevation is wanted, a locking screw 31 is removed disconnecting the sight member 23 from one side 21 and enabling it to be removed through the other side 21. The' sight member 23 is then turned in the appropriate direction for the elevation correction to an extent thought to raise or lower the upper profile of the sight member 23 sufficiently when replaced. The sight member 23, for reasons that presently will be apparent, is inserted, when replaced, through the passageway 24 of the side 21 through which it was withdrawn. The removed screw 31 is then replaced and tightened to secure the sight member 23 with its notch in its original position, transversely considered, but with the position of the sight profile appropriately varied.

In practice, quarter inch, fourteen tooth pinion stock has proved to provide a sufficient range of vertical sight adjustments for a hand gun, a 22 caliber automatic, for example. Desirably, the channel 25 is of sufficient depth to shield the lower profile of the sight member 23 through at least a substantial portion of that range.

An important feature of the invention is that the splined attachment of the sight member effected by interfitted teeth of the receiver portions 24A and the end portions 23A enable the sight member 23 to be attached to the sides 21 in a position effecting the required muzzle elevation and moved transversely, while thus attached, to effect windage corrections. Such corrections are effected by backing off one screw 31 and tightening the other until the sight member 23 has moved axially to the necessary extent. Once a windage correction has been effected, it can be maintained during a subsequent elevation correction since, as stated, the sight member 23 is removable with one screw 31 removed. The other screw 31 then functioning to ensure the correct transverse position of the sighting notch if inserted through the same side 21 as that through which it was removed and the attached screw 31 is not turned. It will be noted that the axial extent of the receiver portions 24A is greater than that of the end portions 23A and that the screws 21 are too short to bottom in the bores 30.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated by FIGS. 7 and 8, the rear sight is or may be identical to that previously described except that it includes a generally indicated, U-shaped support 32 including a dovetail 33 dimensioned for entry into a complementary transverse groove 34 in the appropriate part of a firearm, barrel, receiver, or frame depending on its type. Corresponding parts of the sight shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 are distinguished by the prefix addition 1 to the appropriate reference numerals.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated by FIGS. 9 and is also generally similar except for its generally indicated support 35 and corresponding parts are distinguished by the prefix addition 2 to the appropriate reference numeral. The support 35 is U-shaped but includes a depending leg 36 that is a sliding fit in the vertical dovetail 37 of a mount 38 which is shown as a separate part fixed to a side of the firearm. While the leg 36 may be permanently connected to the mount 38, it is shown as detachably locked thereto as by a set screw 39.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the invention provides rear sights, for hand guns and rifles, that are capable of being manufactured at low cost and that enable fine elevation and windage adjustments to be easily made.

I claim:

1. A rear sight for a firearm, said sight comprising a support, a sight member including at least one circular end portion, and a cylindrical mid portion of a reduced diameter relative to said end portion and being eccentric with respect to said end portion, said cylindrical mid portion establishing a sighting notch, said support including a receiver for said end portion, said receiver and said end portion including an arcuate series of complementary and uniformly spaced, interchangeable splines, the upper profile of said sighting notch base being raised or lowered as the sight member is turned on its axis in one direction or the other, with said splines disengaged, into a selected position within a predetermined range of elevation-correcting positions, and means connecting said end portion to said receiver with the splines interengaged and operable to lock the sight member in that selected position, the spacing of said spline portions establishing the minimum change that can be made in said range.

2. The rear sight of claim 1 and adjustable means operable to move the sight member axially relative to the receiver with the spline portions interengaged to establish a selected transverse position of the sighting notch with a predetermined range of windage-correcting positions and to lock the sight member to the support in that selected position.

3. The rear sight of claim 1 and means operable to lock the sight member to the receiver.

4. The rear sight of claim 1 in which the spline portions are dimensioned to enable the sight member to move axially relative to the support for windage correction and the connecting means includes means operable to lock the sight member to the support with its notch positioned for a selected windage correction.

5. The rear sight of claim 1 in which the spline portions of the receiver and of the end portion are dimensioned to enable the sight member to be moved axially to a predetermined extent providing a range of windage corrections while being held against turning, and com mon means operable to lock the sight member to the support in said selected positions for both windage and elevations corrections.

6. The rear sight of claim 1 in which the sight member has two end portions and the support includes a pair of sides having transversely aligned passageways extending therethrough, the inner part of each passageway being a receiver for an end portion and the outer part thereof being a counterbore, the end portions and the receivers include the splines, splines of the receivers being in alignment, each end portion having a threaded axial bore, and a screw in each axial bore with its head seated against the bottom of the appropriate counterbore.

7. The rear sight of claim 6 in which the connecting member is concentric with the hubs.

8. The rear sight of claim 7 in which the support includes a base part having a channel receiving the lower portion of the sight member.

9. The rear sight of claim 8 in which the channel also includes splines that are continuations of certain ones of the splines of the receivers and the hubs also include spline portions that are continuous of certain ones of the splines of the end portions. 

1. A rear sight for a firearm, said sight comprising a support, a sight member including at least one circular end portion, and a cylindrical mid portion of a reduced diameter relative to said end portion and being eccentric with respect to said end portion, said cylindrical mid portion establishing a sighting notch, said support including a receiver for said end portion, said receiver and said end portion including an arcuate series of complementary and uniformly spaced, interchangeable splines, the upper profile of said sighting notch base being raised or lowered as the sight member is turned on its axis in one direction or the other, with said splines disengaged, into a selected position within a predetermined range of elevation-correcting positions, and means connecting said end portion to said receiver with the splines interengaged and operable to lock the sight member in that selected position, the spacing of said spline portions establishing the minimum change that can be made in said range.
 2. The rear sight of claim 1 and adjustable means operable to move the sight member axially relative to the receiver with the spline portions interengaged to establish a selected transverse position of the sighting notch with a predetermined range of windage-correcting positions and to lock the sight member to the support in that selected position.
 3. The rear sight of claim 1 and means operable to lock the sight member to the receiver.
 4. The rear sight of claim 1 in which the spline portions are dimensioned to enable the sight member to move axially relative to the support for windage correction and the connecting means includes means operable to lock the sight member to the support with its notch positioned for a selected windage correction.
 5. The rear sight of claim 1 in which the spline portions of the receiver and of the end portion are dimensioned to enable the sight member to be moved axially to a predetermined extent providing a range of windage corrections while being held against turning, and common means operable to lock the sight member to the support in said selected positions for both windage and elevations corrections.
 6. The rear sight of claim 1 in which the sight member has two end portions and the support includes a pair of sideS having transversely aligned passageways extending therethrough, the inner part of each passageway being a receiver for an end portion and the outer part thereof being a counterbore, the end portions and the receivers include the splines, splines of the receivers being in alignment, each end portion having a threaded axial bore, and a screw in each axial bore with its head seated against the bottom of the appropriate counterbore.
 7. The rear sight of claim 6 in which the connecting member is concentric with the hubs.
 8. The rear sight of claim 7 in which the support includes a base part having a channel receiving the lower portion of the sight member.
 9. The rear sight of claim 8 in which the channel also includes splines that are continuations of certain ones of the splines of the receivers and the hubs also include spline portions that are continuous of certain ones of the splines of the end portions. 